Dead horse left on sidewalk in downtown Atlanta, authorities say
ATLANTA (WANF/Gray News) - Officials in Georgia are investigating after a dead horse was left on the sidewalk in downtown Atlanta over Saturday night.
A video circulating on social media showed the horse lying in front of Unity National Bank ATM at the intersection of Peachtree Street and MLK Jr. Drive, just across the street from the Fulton County Government Center.
A jug of water was seen placed in front of the unmoving animal.
Officers said crews worked to remove the body around 11 a.m. Sunday.
“We kindly ask the public to avoid the area at this time to allow crews the space and safety needed to complete the process,” the police department said in a statement.
According to scanner traffic, officers on the scene alerted dispatchers as to what they were seeing.
“At Peachtree Street on the sidewalk, there is a big ‘ol horse lying here on the ground,” one officer said.
Another officer said there were “multiple males” riding horses around the area overnight.
Laurie Wilson has trained horses for more than 25 years and has spent seven years as a large animal rescue volunteer with Cobb County.
“I find it very unusual to see any horse in downtown Atlanta, much less that situation,” she said.
Wilson said the horse appeared healthy, with a good weight and shoes on.
“I saw nothing as far as from a neglect standpoint. The horse looked very taken care of,” Wilson said.
Police said they were first called to that location around 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
The horse’s owner told officers the animal suffered a “possible medical emergency” before collapsing on the sidewalk.
“It is not unlikely that that could happen. And I say that unlikely, it can happen, but it is weird that it happened in downtown Atlanta, and then the horse is left lying there with no equipment,” Wilson said.
South Downtown ATL, the area’s real estate group, said they are reviewing cameras in the area with the help of the Department of Agriculture.
It is not yet known how the horse died or why it was left on the street.
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